Find Deleted Transactions in QuickBooks: Online & Desktop

To find deleted transactions in QuickBooks Online, open Settings (the gear icon), choose Audit log, click Filter, and set Events to show deleted activity. Each deleted entry appears with the date, the user who removed it, and a View link in the History column that shows the original amount, accounts, and details so you can re-enter it. In QuickBooks Desktop, run Reports, Accountant and Taxes, Voided/Deleted Transactions Detail, or the Audit Trail report to see the same history.

QuickBooks never truly hides a deletion. It logs who removed what and when, but it does not undelete anything for you. There is no restore button, so finding a deleted transaction means reading the audit history and typing the transaction back in by hand. If the deleted entry was already reconciled, you also have to repair the reconciliation it threw off.

How do I find deleted transactions in QuickBooks Online?

Open Settings, then Audit log. Click the Filter dropdown, set Date Changed to the period you suspect, and narrow Events to transaction activity. Deleted entries show the event label Deleted next to the transaction type. A quick shortcut is to press Ctrl+F in your browser and type deleted to jump straight to those rows in the list.

Where is the audit log in QuickBooks Online?

The audit log lives under the Settings gear at the top right, in the Tools column, labeled Audit log. You need admin or a custom role with audit-log access to open it. It records every add, edit, delete, and void across the company file, along with the user and a timestamp, going back two years.

Can you recover or restore a deleted transaction in QuickBooks?

No. QuickBooks Online and Desktop have no undelete or restore feature. A deleted transaction is removed from your books, reports, and account balances completely. You recover it by opening its audit-log history, reading the original date, amount, accounts, and name, and then manually creating a new transaction with those exact details.

How do I re-enter a deleted transaction from the audit log?

In the Audit log, find the deleted entry and click View in the History column. The history shows the transaction as it existed before deletion: type, date, number, customer or vendor, amount, and the accounts it hit. Use + New to create the same transaction type and copy those values in line by line, then save it so the entry is back on the books.

What information does the audit log show about a deleted transaction?

The audit log shows the Date Changed, the User who made the change, the Event (such as Deleted Invoice or Deleted Expense), the Name on the transaction, and a History link. Open History and you also see the full pre-deletion detail, including amounts and the specific accounts affected, which is everything you need to rebuild it accurately.

How do I view deleted transactions in QuickBooks Desktop?

Go to Reports, then Accountant and Taxes, then Voided/Deleted Transactions Summary or Detail. The Detail version lists each deleted or voided transaction with its original line-level amounts and accounts. You can also run Reports, Accountant and Taxes, Audit Trail to see every add, change, and deletion stamped with the date, time, and user.

What is the Voided/Deleted Transactions report in QuickBooks Desktop?

It is a built-in Desktop report that lists transactions voided or deleted during a chosen date range. The Summary view groups them, while the Detail view shows the original accounts and amounts so you can re-create anything that was removed. It is the fastest way to audit deletions in Desktop without scrolling the full audit trail.

How can I see who deleted a transaction in QuickBooks?

The User column in the QuickBooks Online Audit log names the person who deleted each entry. In Desktop, the Audit Trail and Voided/Deleted Transactions reports both record the user tied to each change. If everyone shares one login, the reports will show that single user, so set up separate user accounts to keep deletions traceable.

How long does QuickBooks keep deleted transaction history?

QuickBooks Online retains audit-log events for two years, so deletions older than that drop off the log. QuickBooks Desktop keeps the audit trail as long as you have not condensed or cleaned up the company file, since the Condense Data utility can remove the detailed history. Export or print the report if you need a permanent record.

Why did a deleted transaction change my reconciliation?

Deleting a transaction that was already reconciled removes a cleared amount, which changes the ending balance of that past reconciliation and the beginning balance of the next one. QuickBooks then shows a beginning-balance discrepancy because the months no longer tie together. The fix is to re-create the deleted transaction and mark it reconciled again.

How do I fix the beginning balance after deleting a reconciled transaction?

Re-enter the deleted transaction with the same date and amount, then mark it reconciled so it rejoins the cleared balance. In QuickBooks Online, click the status box in the account register until it shows R. In Desktop, run a mini-reconciliation for that account. Once the cleared total matches again, the beginning-balance discrepancy clears.

How do I stop transactions from being deleted by accident?

Set a closing date with a password under Settings, Account and settings, Advanced so past periods cannot be changed without it. Give team members the lowest role that lets them do their job, since not every user needs delete rights. Review the audit log on a schedule so any unexpected deletion is caught while it is still easy to rebuild.

A deleted bank entry is often easiest to rebuild from the source statement. If a whole month of cleared transactions is missing, you can import old bank statements by converting the PDF to a .qbo file and uploading it, then match the transactions instead of retyping each one. From there, repair the math with our guides to fixing a reconciliation discrepancy and a bank balance that doesn't match, then reconcile bank statements in QuickBooks for the affected month. If you also keep records elsewhere, you can convert statements to Excel, turn a CSV file into a .qbo, or hand vendor bills to accounts payable automation so fewer entries get lost in the first place.